GOP GROUP SEEKS PROBE OF S.D. COUNTY CLERK

Proposition 8 stand sparks call for inquiry

A group of gay, lesbian and transgender Republicans on Monday called on the San Diego County Board of Supervisors to investigate County Clerk Ernest Dronenburg, who last week filed a petition asking the California Supreme Court to temporarily ban county clerks statewide from issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

Dronenburg, elected in 2010, said in his filing that he wants clarity on the constitutionality of Proposition 8.

That ballot measure, passed by voters in 2008, defines marriage as being between a man and a woman. It was ruled unconstitutional by a U.S. District Court judge in San Francisco and then eventually appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court by supporters of the law.

The high court ruled 5-4 in June that those appellants lacked legal standing, but it did not address the constitutionality of Proposition 8. Backers and critics of same-sex marriage have since disputed, among other things, whether the ruling applies throughout California.

Susan Jester, president of the Log Cabin Republicans of San Diego County, which advocates for LGBT rights, said Dronenburg’s actions warrant a formal county probe. The group plans to make its official request this morning during a news conference in front of the County Administration Center.

“Using the Office of the County Clerk of San Diego to further a religious and political agenda is a serious violation of the public’s trust, and it’s un-American and it sure doesn’t represent my conservative values,” Jester said in a statement.

Dronenburg, who is 69 and lives in Fallbrook, has declined to state his personal views on same-sex marriage. He said by phone on Monday evening: “(County leaders) all recognize that I’m an independent elected official. This is in my area of expertise.”

Dronenburg added that 16 other county clerks on Monday filed similar legal challenges to the requirement that they issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

It was unknown what, if any, actions the county might take. Board Chairman Greg Cox was unavailable Monday afternoon, and the county’s spokesman did not respond to a request for comment. Cox said on Friday that “no one else from the county was consulted or had any part of (Dronenburg’s) court action.”

Supervisor Dave Roberts, the county’s first openly gay supervisor, on Monday called on the county board and its attorney to hold a closed-session meeting to discuss “all available options” regarding the county clerk’s petition.

Also on Monday, state Attorney General Kamala Harris filed a brief opposing Dronenburg’s request for a temporary stay, saying it “has no likelihood of success on the merits” and describing it as “an impermissible collateral attack on the (federal) district court’s final judgment.”